Platform Five: This week’s most important social media changes (edition 163)

This week’s 5 most important social media changes

What’s changed in the last seven days? What does it mean?

Facebook has had another data breach, Twitter rolls out the ‘Sparkle button’ and Snapchat is taking on TikTok.

Let’s take a look at these changes in more detail.

Facebook adds new features to Messenger

Facebook has added a range of new features to Messenger just in time to capture your holiday snaps. The new additions include two new camera option, boomerang and selfie mode and a few AR sticker options.

Snapchat introduces Lens Challenges

Snapchat is taking a page out of TikTok’s book and introducing challenge lenses. Challenge lenses allow users to “get their creative juices flowing” and participate in musical medleys or just film themselves dancing to the selected challenge song. It’s worked well for TikTok but will it save Snapchat’s declining user base?

Facebook had yet another data breach

We’d hoped that we wouldn’t still be writing about these by now but Facebook has disclosed that there was another bug on their platform that exposed users photos to third-party apps. They say the problem has now been fixed but its left another strike against the Facebook name.

Twitter rolls out the ability to switch timelines to all users

Initial tests were announced back in September that would give users the ability to switch their timelines between algorithm and reverse chronological timelines. Twitter is now bringing the ‘Sparkle button’ as it has so been named to all users.

Facebook launched an inspiration section for business’

Facebook is trying to make its business manager a source of inspiration for business creative. The new section shows examples of the most creative ads and the best performing creative from across Facebook’s platform.